Destroyman
This article is about the character. For the in-universe film, see Destroyman (film). John Harnet, better known by his pseudonym Destroyman (デストロイマン, Desutoroiman), is a character in both installments of the ''No More Heroes'' video game series. He is introduced as a 28-year-old assassin who has also taken up a day job working for a postal service. His nationality is unknown, although he is presumably American. In No More Heroes he is ranked seventh in the United Assassins Association and eighth in its sequel. Destroyman is voiced by Josh Keaton, and was based on Ultimate Fighting Championship contender Josh Barnett,Nordic Game Conference: No More Heroes' film influences. Andrew Hayward. 1UP.com. May 20, 2009. to whom even his real name, John Harnet, is a homage. Appearance and Personality Destroyman's costume is based on the cult film character of the same name. The costume has many hidden weapons and allows him to do a variety of attacks. While already bigger than Travis without it, the costume makes him much bigger. He enjoys killing his opponents. He fights dishonorably and often resorts to taking cheap shots at his opponents. Several times he pretends to be honest, and when Travis wounds him he fakes pain. When he becomes the New Destroymen each half of the pair emphasizes a particular side of Destroyman's personality. The right half exhibits a feigned sense of sportsmanship and is probably the braver of the two, as he chooses to fight Shinobu hand-to-hand, while the left half is rude, vulgar, insulting, and more cowardly, preferring to stay away and use ranged attacks. Beneath his costume, he has blonde hair and wears the typical clothing of a postman. Story Travis first encounters Destroyman at Bear Hug Studio. He is first seen without his costume and asks Travis to look away when he changes, attacking him when Travis does so. He tricks Travis another time in the beginning of the fight: asking to shake hands, he shocks him. Throughout the fight Travis refers to him as Mr Cosplay. Travis eventually wins the fight and stabs him in the chest. Destroyman then begs for mercy Travis complies and pulls his katana out of Destroyman's chest giving him a hint of chance for survival, he then attempts to kill Travis using machine gun turrets hidden in his costume's nipple areas, immediately after which he is vertically bisected by Travis. Destroyman returns in No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle as "New Destroyman," a pair of cyborgs built from each half of his bisected body. By this time, he has become the eighth ranked assassinTwo new playable characters, the final word on MotionPlus, Classic Controller support, obscure trivia, and exclusive new screenshots. Matt Leone. 1UP.com. September 17, 2009. and fights against Shinobu in a warehouse. Their attacks remain generally unchanged from Destroyman's original repertoire, with the addition of a combination Destroy Buster and a homing version of the Destroy Cannon. The left-side Destroyman is decapitated by Shinobu, but the right-side manages to catch Shinobu from behind and accidentally rips off her robotic right arm. She retaliates by impaling him through the head, and the two bodies explode when knocked into each other. Powers and Abilities Destroyman is technologically superpowered, and cosplays the likeness of a character from a fictional low-budget film with a cult following, also titled Destroyman. All of his attacks' names begin with the word "Destroy," such as "Destroy Spark." He also has a move called the "Destroy Cannon," based on the Hadouken move of the Street Fighter franchise. His most devastating attack, the "Destroy Buster", fires a massive particle beam from his crotch. As New Destroyman, he can fly (in his original form, it was thanks to air fans) and possesses upgraded forms of the Destroy Cannon and Destroy Buster. The former can now shoot a homing energy ball, while the latter (performed by both New Destroymen simultaneously) creates an energy sphere that draws Shinobu in before exploding in a massive burst of energy. The New Destroymen are also capable of reviving one another; if one is defeated, the other will run over and restore some health to the other one. Destroyman is able to don his costume in a split second, as seen just as soon as Travis looks away from him when asked to. Trading cards Destroyman appears on three trading cards in the Design Materials set of No More Heroes. These are No. 64, No. 65 and No. 67. His alter ego John Harnet also appears on trading cards No. 62 and No. 63. Finally, Trading Card No. 139 depicts both Destroyman and John Harnet. Quotes * "Come and get some, fuck."No More Heroes. Destroyman. Ranking Battle 7. * "So much to do with so little help. Yeah I can't stand these people with all their nonsense complaints. They think they can just say anything. It's crazy." * "I take it you're Mr. Eight?" * "Aw! Damn it!" * "We're both assassins right? Why do we have to kill each other anyway? It you ask me, it's absolutely meaningless." * "We're both fighters, aren't we? Not killers, at least for now. This is a sign of sportsmanship, that we respect each other before and after the fight. Good luck." * "Haha, oh! This is great! Is this guy an idiot or what?" * "Is this a joke?! You fell for the oldest trick in the book! Oh man, you are something!" * "Oh shit. I thought I was gonna die there. For real." * "And look at you. You look like you're dead. I guess It's time for a wake-up call. Destroy POUND! Destroy BEAM! ...This is where it gets good. Good night... Destroy BUSTER!!!" * "What do we have here? A young lady? You know, it's dangerous coming to a place like this alone. You oughta be more careful. Seriously. Terrible things can happen. I see it on the news all the time." * "(laughter) Maybe that's why she came. It's what she wants. Two grown men to keep her company. (laughter) Horny slut." * "You're taking Travis' place? Wow, I got to say, I'm feeling pretty disrespected. * "Listen to this whore. Acting like she's some kind of femme fatale 'shut up and fight' she says. SHE'S REALLY PISSING ME OFF." * "You know. Let's shake hands. Sportsmanship is paramont to a fair and clean fight." * " (whispers) The one that's throbbing. (childlike laughter)" * "I'll make sure Travis gets your head in the mail!" * "We're going to kill you twice over!" * "You're as good as dead..." * "Now, Travis, he knew how fight like a gentleman. Sliced me in half, sure, but he did it with grace." Trivia * Similarly to the Handsome Men in killer7, who call out the name of their attacks with the prefix "Handsome," Destroyman shouts out each of his techniques with the prefix "Destroy" prior to attacking, a common cliché in Japanese action anime. * Trading cards which feature concept art of Destroyman's weapons reveal that early in the development of No More Heroes, he was originally named Justice. * His other job could be a reference to the statement of going postal. ** It could also be his "secret idenity", common in American superheroes. * Shinobu slices off one of the New Destroymans arms, yet in the killing cutscene and during the fight, it seems to have been reattached * Interestingly, when Shinobu decapitates one of the New Destroymen, blood spews out wholly from the body, despite it being half cybernetic. * At the end of his battle against Travis, it is suggested that he may be a cyborg even then, as sparks and tiny explosions were emitting from his head. This would explain how he is able to repaired at all from a bisection prior to his appearance in Desperate Struggle. **However, this could also just be from his suit. * In the European "mild" version of No More Heroes, Destroyman was seemingly disintegrated by the Beam Katana, meaning that his appearance in Desperate Struggle is something of a plot hole for European gamers. * Ironically, despite his personality, Destroyman's costume looks surprisingly close to Captain America's, with stars and all. * His crotch cannon (Destroy Buster) is probably inspired from the comic book "La Caste des Méta-Barons" by Jodorowsky (Suda51 said that No More Heroes is inspired by the movie "El Topo" also by Jodorowsky) in which Othon has a multi-protonic pelvis. *Deystroyman is the only 3 from the 1st game who was brought back from the dead 1st was Letz Shake, 3rd is Bad Girl. * The New Destroymen share some attacks with White Sheepman, who later faces Travis Touchdown in Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes. Both boss fights involve floating bubbles that home in on the player to cause damage and a move where the player is sucked into a vortex of light that they must run in the opposite direction of to protect themselves. Even though these characters share similar moves, Travis Strikes Again is the first time Touchdown himself fends them off, as Jacobs faced New Destroyman in his place in Desperate Struggle. References Category:Assassins Category:Bosses in No More Heroes Category:Bosses in No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle Category:Characters in No More Heroes Category:Characters in No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle Category:Males Category:United Assassins Association